Portland Road, the most divided street in the UK

May 29, 2012 Leave a comment

Portland Road, West London, UKLondon, UK – The Portland Road may usually seem impossible. On one hand, it is the most exclusive street where well known people live and shops of famous artists are located. On the other hand, this is the exact same street where socially deprived people are established.

The Portland Road is known by many people in London as the place to go in terms of fancy shopping. It’s full of elegant houses, antique shops and art galleries, all within the upper class’ price range. The Cross, for instance, sells gorgeous cashmere dressing gowns costing around £400.

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High housing costs force Londoners to live with their ex

May 8, 2012 Leave a comment

High housing costs force Londoners to live with their exHigh housing costs within London have meant that many couple feel obliged to move in with each other, or that former partners must remain in the same home.

A survey by Shelter has found that couples moving in together for financial reasons was around 235,000 whilst a further 128,000 had to stay living with their ex. One example which was given by Shelther was the case of 37-year old ‘Carla’. Although she earns nearly £50,000 she cannot afford to move out and must still live with her ex-boyfriend. Carla believes that the reason she is finding it hard to find another property is due to the fact that the London property market is so competitive and some people secure properties by paying the rent for the next six months in advance. Read more of this post

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The Shape of the Market Today

May 5, 2012 Leave a comment

The Shape of the Market TodayIf you need to sell your property quickly, it is important to understand current market conditions.

With the UK officially falling into a double-dip recession and inflation consistently above target, mortgages are still scarce and upsizing is the last thought on most hard-working families’ minds.

Below are some of the main reasons that prices are still subdued.

Factors Reducing House Prices Read more of this post

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Million pound homes report fall in sales

April 27, 2012 1 Comment

Million pound homes report fall in salesMillion pound homes worth over £1m being sold across Britain have reported a 5% fall in 2011 according to a report by Lloyds TSB. However, houses worth £2m and over have shot up 5%, the biggest increase in this price range since the start of records in 1995.

The report highlights that whilst most ordinary Britons are struggling on the housing ladder- burdened with wages which have slow growth and the ever increasing cost of living- the super-rich are still able to afford expensive housing and have no problems on the housing ladder. Overall, there was a 4% decrease in the sale of houses across the whole country. Read more of this post

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Housing Minister Grant Shapps vows to aid buyers

April 25, 2012 Leave a comment

housing minister grant shapps vows to aid buyersHousing Minister Grant Shapps has guaranteed to help buyers to get onto the property ladder. The people he has pledged to help have been dubbed ‘the boxed-in generation’, who have outgrown their current home but cannot afford to get a bigger place.

Findaproperty.com recently conducted a survey which discovered over 30% of parents feel that for their family size, their property is too small. The figure rose to 40% for families aged 18-34.

Shapps has stated that the current generation are very much unlike their parents who were more easily able to move home as families expanded. They are now stuck in small flats when they really crave a family home. Therefore the newly introduced NewBuy scheme is intended to help this problem. This scheme allows buyers the chance of buying a new house with a smaller deposit and a 95% Loan-to-Value mortgage. Thus these buyers are more likely to be able to obtain a place on the property ladder. Read more of this post

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Rental payment struggle for tenants

April 23, 2012 1 Comment

Rental payment struggle for tenantsTenants are experiencing a rental payment struggle as more and more are failing to pay their rents at the right time.

The Association of Letting Agents (ARLA) have discovered that in the last six months, 40% of their letting agent members have noticed that more of their tenants are not meeting rental payment deadlines, or are struggling to do so. Tenants will therefore try to barter with landlords to keep the level of rent the same or even reduce it. The report discovered that this trend was most apparent in the South West and North East of England, which shows a struggle which takes place in very different parts of the country. Read more of this post

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Fix-price housing market support from London mayoral candidate

April 18, 2012 Leave a comment

Fix-price housing market support from London mayoral candidateA fix-price housing market is one of the suggestions of Siobhan Benita, the only independent candidate in the race to become London’s next mayor.

The former civil servant’s manifesto has been described as covering all policy areas with some solid ideas and an agenda which focuses on the community. She states that she did not just want to cover one issue and wants to ‘challenge’ our current mainstream parties in politics by being less extreme and more thoughtful.

Ken Livingstone, the Labour candidate for the race, is welcoming of Siobhan Benita, believing that a range of candidates for the election debate should have their voice heard. Boris Johnson, the Conversative candidate, has yet to comment on Siobhan Benita. Read more of this post

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London attractive in UK Housing market

April 17, 2012 1 Comment

London attractive for UK Housing marketBuying a house in London is still the most interesting city for new buyers. Latest survey has pointed out that there has been an increase in the housing market in March.

The amount of inquiries from potential buyers increased last month. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), there was a 9 percent spike of surveyors that reported an increase of inquiries from potential buyers than surveyors who reported drop.

Possibly the beautiful weather played his part there. This could be one of the motivational factors that leaded to some new inquiries. Obviously, people tend to visit more open houses when it’s nice weather than when it’s cold and rainy. Read more of this post

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Super rich French turn to London

April 12, 2012 2 Comments

Super rich French turn to LondonSuper rich French residents are turning to the London property market amongst fears over rising taxes after current elections.

Francois Hollande,  the presidential candidate who is a favourite and in the lead, is proposing a tax rate of 75% for those earning above €1,000,000.

Central London has seen an overall drop of 9% in enquiries for properties from other European counterparts. However, Knight Frank has reported a 19% increase in interest from French buyers in the first 3 months of 2012. Read more of this post

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London, the property investment city for Korea

April 11, 2012 1 Comment

London, investment city for South KoreaInvestments by Koreans in London property, manly prime offices, are becoming more and more common nowadays. Over the last years, South Koreans have been searching for other parts in the world where they can invest. And lately, their interest in London property has increased due to the relatively long leases, high liquidity and a higher turnover in comparison with other types of investments.

Currently, the South Korean property market is quite saturated, in terms of investments. The market is just too small. Due to the risks, institutional investors find it unattractive to invest in upcoming property markets and that’s why they are eager to look further than Asia. In Europe, and especially London, the return of investments is attractive for large investors. Solid ROI’s around 6-7 percent is what most investors are eager to find. And London has what it takes. Read more of this post

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